It is a little odd how often gay relationships appear on this comic. It's great to be inclusive, but it comes across as trying a little too hard when like over 50% of relationships featured are homosexual. Something like 5% of the American population self-identifies as homosexual or bisexual.

Someone wrote:It is a little odd how often gay relationships appear on this comic. It's great to be inclusive, but it comes across as trying a little too hard when like over 50% of relationships featured are homosexual. Something like 5% of the American population self-identifies as homosexual or bisexual.

Yes, because comics on the internet are supposed to be perfect representations of our society. Who cares?

Someone wrote:It is a little odd how often gay relationships appear on this comic. It's great to be inclusive, but it comes across as trying a little too hard when like over 50% of relationships featured are homosexual. Something like 5% of the American population self-identifies as homosexual or bisexual.

Do you hate seeing gay people?

Astrogirl wrote:Lethal, nobody wants to know about your herpes.

Lethal Interjection wrote:That's good to know. I can avoid a few awkward phone calls now.

Another anon wrote:Are you joking? There's no reason to be so accusatory to a person just voicing an opinion.

I just thought it was strange that they didn't like to see gay people. Maybe they find them immoral, or that they shouldn't exist in media. If that's your opinion, then you probably wouldn't like SMBC.

Astrogirl wrote:Lethal, nobody wants to know about your herpes.

Lethal Interjection wrote:That's good to know. I can avoid a few awkward phone calls now.

It's a legit observation. No, SMBC doesn't have to reflect reality, but as with all representational art, there's a reasonable expectation that it does--unless the deviation from reality is made explicit and given focus. Normally, when SMBC features absurd or surreal elements their deviation from reality is precisely the point and it's at least part of what makes the comic funny or interesting.

So when Zach makes a huge portion of his couples gay but that ISN'T the joke, it just comes off as trying too hard to be inclusive, a.k.a. virtue signaling ("look how non-homophobic I am"). This is a thought I had a while ago and I'm glad other people did too. Virtue signalling is annoying and gets in the way of the comic.

BTW, it's not weird or wrong for a straight person to be a little repulsed by depictions of gay sex. It's a natural evolved response and it doesn't mean the straight person hates gay people or anything of the sort. If you're looking for witches to burn, the SMBC forum probably isn't the place to find them.

Voice of Raisin wrote:It's a legit observation. No, SMBC doesn't have to reflect reality, but as with all representational art, there's a reasonable expectation that it does--unless the deviation from reality is made explicit and given focus. Normally, when SMBC features absurd or surreal elements their deviation from reality is precisely the point and it's at least part of what makes the comic funny or interesting.

So when Zach makes a huge portion of his couples gay but that ISN'T the joke, it just comes off as trying too hard to be inclusive, a.k.a. virtue signaling ("look how non-homophobic I am"). This is a thought I had a while ago and I'm glad other people did too. Virtue signalling is annoying and gets in the way of the comic.

BTW, it's not weird or wrong for a straight person to be a little repulsed by depictions of gay sex. It's a natural evolved response and it doesn't mean the straight person hates gay people or anything of the sort. If you're looking for witches to burn, the SMBC forum probably isn't the place to find them.

Does it, though? Does making SMBC inclusive, as you say, really get in the way of the comic? Or is it just your brand of normativity that stands in the way of the comic? And maybe it isn't 'weird' that this might prove a distraction but maybe that 'evolved' response isn't really as progressive as you think it is. I'll agree that that SMBC is probably not best place to find witches to burn, but that doesn't mean that there aren't posters who aren't in need of correction. Because even with Zach's above-average inclusivity, there remain those that call it out with regularity. Witches will always come around. Sometimes they might even suggest that homophobia is a natural evolutionary response.